COMMENTARY

High school wrestling: Living alone, Clay's Allen growing up fast

Al Lesar Commentary

5:18 a.m. EST, February 21, 2013

SOUTH BEND -- Nobody’s there to make sure Jaylin Allen wakes up in time to catch a 6:45 a.m. bus that will eventually get him to Clay High.

Nobody was there to tell him what would happen the first time he mixed reds and whites in the laundry.

Al Lesar
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(Pink isn’t the new red, by the way.)

Nobody’s around to ask him about his amazing story at the state wrestling championships last weekend.

On his own without a parent or guardian for this, his senior year, the 18-year-old has learned life lessons on and off the mat.

“When things get hard, you can’t give up,” Allen said. “Don’t quit, a good outcome can happen.”

That one simple thought can sum up who Allen is, and what he experienced recently.

On the personal side, along with his mother Jenice Tavorn, he had bounced around from South Bend to Indianapolis, to Florida (for a brief time), back to Indianapolis, then back to South Bend during his high school years.

“My mom thought the opportunities for her and all of us (Allen has four sisters) would be better in Indianapolis,” Allen said.

“I looked at it as a positive; a chance to make a lot of friends and meet new people.”

During his sophomore year, he attended three high schools in Indianapolis — Ben Davis, Speedway and Warren Central.

Then, it dawned on him.

“I already had friends,” he said. “I had a lot of family and friends who lived in South Bend. I’m so close to a lot of friends, they’re just like family.”

Allen finally came home. He stayed with friends during his junior year at Clay.

This year, he spent two weeks on his own at Motel 6 before finally finding an apartment.

So, that means party at Jaylin’s crib, right?

“Some people might think that, but I don’t want to get into that,” he said. “I don’t want to have to go back to that hotel.”

No bedtime. Eat what he wants. Television any time. No problems?

“At first, I was scared to sleep by myself,” said Allen, who gets financial help from family members. “I used to leave the lights on all night. The electric bill was crazy. I finally grew out of it.”

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